• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

I don’t have time for that

Published: Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Do you ever think to yourself that you can’t do this? That you’re not smart enough? That you haven’t practised enough? That you’re not ready? That you’re not good looking enough? That people won’t like you anyway? That you don’t know what to do? That people will think you’re weird? That you’re going to fail? That you’re going to disappoint someone? That you’re going to embarrass yourself? That you’re wasting everyone else’s time? That you’re not important enough? That he-said, she-said, and hence that means that he-thinks, she-thinks? That the conversations in your mind go round and round in circles?

We have all these conversations going on in our minds all the time. We don’t think we’re good enough, we think of how we screwed up last time, we think of all the decisions we make based on our past activities, we think of what other people think of us… But, do you ever stop and think: what am I actually thinking about? And is it actually helping me?

Because if it’s not helping you achieve what you want to achieve, then give it up. If saying to yourself that you can’t do something is not going to help you get something done, give it up. If you’re letting what other people may think about you affect your actions, then give it up. For in the infinite wisdom of Dr. Suess: Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

When the Fonz was younger and attending lots and lots of auditions, he would see lots of guys who were taller than him, more good-looking, and who seemed so much more accomplished. Instead of letting it affect him and his performance, he would say to himself, “I don’t have time for that thought,” and not think about it anymore. He usually got the part.

What are you thinking about? Is it worth your time?

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Day 3: A lot of heart

    Today, the most interesting part of the day was a session called "Open Space", where some people wrote topics they were interested in discussing on...

  • Jevaroo - pouring a glass of water

    Here is our 8-degree-of-freedom robotic arm Jevaroo, pouring a glass of water and then moving around to show its range of movements!

  • Austrade San Francisco Landing Pad

    In late 2018, Aubot participated in the Australian Trade and Investment Commission’s (Austrade’s), Landing Pad program, which helps successful...

  • The people I admire and how I use them for inspiration

    Most lists of inspiring people contain the billionaires, or world-wide success stories of people who have decoyed 20-30-40 years of service towards...

  • Press for Teleport Brain Control

    Our brain control Teleport got some great press!  It was covered by the Brisbane Times, New Atlas, Mashable, BBC and NowThis. Brisbane Times:  Robot...

  • Aubot Instagram

    Aubot has created an instagram page with fun photos of Teleport!  Check them out here!...

  • Nexus Impact Accelerator Fellow

    I spent the last few days of February in Washington DC attending the Nexus Global Summit as a Nexus Impact Accelerator Fellow. NEXUS is a global...

  • Eyesight on technology

    When I was growing up, I read voraciously - for hours and hours a day.  When I was in year 7, my mum even went to my parent-teacher interview and...

  • What's in a name?

    From August 2009 to August 2011, I was the "Founder and Director of Robogals Global".  Before that, my title was "Founder", and we hadn't created...

  • Remembering my piano teacher Mrs Langtree

    When people ask me abut my influences growing up, I tell them about my piano teacher, Mrs Langtree. I went to my first piano lesson when I was 7...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top